Sustainable Design

Sustainable design involves creating products that meet the worlds need to reduce the human
impact on ecological systems. Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects,
the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of social, economic,
and ecological sustainability.
How projects are designed and, more importantly, how the design program is defined, is central
to sustainable design and planning. If a project does not include energy efficiency as a program
requirement, there is little chance that the project will fulfill that requirement. More
importantly, if sustainable design is the foundation of the program requirement, then energy,
form, construction processes, materials, native place, and long life are integral to the design
solution. Since design is a process, changing the process will change the product significantly.
All design can be sustainable, but the change in the design process must include a change in the
designers education. Designers expanded ability to solve problems must be grounded in
ecological principles, earth sciences, and physicsall of which are sustainable models.
Design is a powerful process, and as such, when it is informed by the knowledge gleaned from
truly sustainable systems, design has the potential of changing how buildings, communities, and
societies function. Design has the power of both satisfying a need and providing value. The
unsustainable approaches to designing and building energy-consumptive structures must
evolve to place-based energy and self-sufficient designs, and they need to evolve rapidly.

Benefits Of Sustainable Design

Sustainable design improves the quality of life while eliminating the need for nonrenewable
energy. When a design solution incorporates sustainable energies to power that designs
functioning, that work is done for free. Free work is what natural systems provide; it powers
all ecology. Human ecology, though similar, is critically different. Although largely powered by
sustainable processes that provide essential needs, human settlements rely on fossil fuel for
food, comfort, transportation, air, water, and security. Designs powered by free sustainable
energies require no fossil fuel and are capable of providing a healthier level of comfort and a
higher quality of life. In achieving this connection with local free energies, sustainable design
reduces or eliminates the daily consumption of non-renewables, reduces project costs and
maintenance costs and requirements, increases user approval and user productivity, and
reduces the total embodied project energy. Sustainable design is green design powered by
sustainable energiesfunctioning unplugged.
 Principles Of Sustainable Design
At a time when the known non-renewable reserves of fossil fuel are getting more costly to tap,
producing less net energy and producing harmful global warming, it is prudent to start
designing structures and communities that function well without them. As energy costs soar,
fossil fuelpowered comfort, water availability, transportation, and food will become less
available and affordableimpacting the cost and functioning of everything. Since less net
energy, coupled with the associated pollution and health issues, is the apparent future for
non-renewable-energy use, it poses a compelling challenge: how to design structures that are
powered by renewables on the site and region and how to design into the project the ability to
fully function without non-renewables.
Three scalar elements should be considered in the initial design process:
1. Connectivity: Design to reinforce the relationship between the project, the site, the
community, and the ecology. Make minimal changes to the natural system functioning.
Reinforce and steward those natural characteristics specific to the place.
2. Indigenous: Design with and for what has been resident and sustainable on the site for
centuries.
3. Long life, loose fit: Design for future generations while reflecting past generations.

The Future Of Sustainable Design

Sustainable Innovation